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2016-10-21

Update Roundup: Social Media, DT Media, New Books Coming Soon

I wanted to pass along a few quick notes to everyone who visits Ghibli Blog. Activity on this main site has been quiet for much of this year, but I am working to change that and publish on a more or less regular schedule.

In addition to this site, Ghibli Blog Twitter is very active, with new content available every day. I have been working hard to build our community, with over 1,060 followers. We (meaning Marcee and myself) are also working hard to build up our Ghibli Blog Facebook page. Content from the Twitter page will also be posted here, in addition to any special messages we wish to send out to our readers.

Most importantly, we have been working hard to create a new indie publishing company, DT Media. Three new books will be published, all written by me (and this is why I've been so busy this year). We will make formal announcements when everything is ready (translation: once we've saved up the money for the books and website). Our Twitter and FB pages will shift to reflect this, combining DT Media and Ghibli Blog.

The first book, Zen Arcade, is a collection of 140 classic videogame reviews for NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, NEC Turbografx-16 and SNK Neo-Geo. The titles have all been released on Nintendo's Virtual Console and all the major digital platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, Steam, iOS and Android. This book will be an essential and entertaining resource for all fans and collectors of retro video games.

The second book, Pop Life, is a collection of reviews and essays collected from Ghibli Blog, as well as my other online sites, Daniel Thomas Vol. 4 and DanielThomas.org. Readers will find reviews and essays on movies, animation, music, home audio, videogames, politics and daily life. Many new essays have also been written and the older material has been edited and revised to stay up-to-date. This book is a grand celebration of popular culture and life, and is full of keen insights, smart humor and biting satire. If you're a fan of Roger Ebert, Pauline Kael and Hunter S. Thompson, you'll love this book.

The third book, Greatest Hits, is an anthology of essays taken from four books: Zen Arcade and Pop Life, mentioned previously, as well as two new books which are still in production, Videogame Classics and Masters of Reality. This digital edition (e-book) of this book will be available for FREE to everyone who subscribes to our mailing list. I like to think of this as a welcome to our fans and readers, our way of saying thanks. It is also an opportunity to show you just what we are planning in the future, and share those stories with you now.

Videogame Classics features review essays on the greatest videogames ever made, from the earliest days of Atari to the current hits. We are working hard to dig deep and share with you many beloved classics that may have fallen through the cracks of time, or may have been forgotten. For all lovers of video games, this volume will be a touchstone and reference for the vast history of this great medium.

Finally, Masters of Reality is the Studio Ghibli project that I have been promising for ages. It is a very ambitious project, and is still in the early stages of production. Our goal is to present reviews and essays on the great works of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, careers spanning across five decades. We will discuss television, film, comics, books, and more, with writing that is insightful and inspiring. There may be more than one book in the series, but that has yet to be determined. For Greatest Hits, I have assembled a large number of essays for your enjoyment.

All of our books will be available on e-book and paperback. The complete details will be announced soon. We still need to assemble the books (cover and formatting), build the website, and begin growing the mailing list. And I will continue to work on providing content here on Ghibli Blog as best I can.

Anyway, that's the roundup. Please join our community at Twitter and Facebook, if you have not yet done so. As always, thanks to your continuing support of this website and all that I do.

P.S. One last thing. In September, I was involved on an upcoming Blu-Ray movie project. I shouldn't make any public announcements yet, but you're going to love it. Let's just say that an all-new audio commentary track is involved. Stay tuned.